lean not on your own understanding

Technology can be amazingly helpful -- except when it's not. Long ago referred to as the "productivity paradox," the gains in efficiency and effectiveness have not been evident in economic growth figures -- at a macro level. Contributory causes are productivity drains in setting up systems, fixing them, and overcomplicating work products.At an organizational level, the gains can be substantial, however. Companies can take advantage of the access and immediacy that networked systems can provide, especially with customers. A key opportunity for innovation that improves business performance is in the customers' experience. Are there touch points in the ways the customer interacts with your organization that can be either expedited, eliminated, or enhanced?

EXPEDITED An obvious example is Amazon.com, a company experimenting with drone delivery services to get products to customers immediately (if this keeps accelerating, they are going to start delivering goods before you have even ordered them!). A more basic example is being able to renew a library book online. While I do not advocate mobile banking on unsecured networks, it is pretty fantastic to be able to take a photo of the front and back of an endorsed check to make a deposit. When you look at the processes in your business, especially where customers have visibility into the them, are there opportunities to reduce waiting and improve lead times with a smarter use of technology?

ELIMINATED Most e-commerce customers have had the opportunity to save their profile online with a vendor, including a securely stored credit card number. That's a win-win scenario: the vendor has access to the customers' contact information and purchasing history, and the customer is saved the trouble of reentering that information for each transaction. Data collection like that is an easy opportunity to change the customer experience. Pizza delivery companies can use caller ID with home phone numbers to confirm the delivery address, instead of asking for it. We also see this in many smartphone apps' use of location services. Are there tedious tasks your customers undertake that you can take away from their experiences with you?

ENHANCED This is simply the ability to add value to the customer contact point. Traveling for business? Airlines have added value and monetized the innovation by providing in-flight wifi for a fee. Netflix promotes customer satisfaction with recommendations driven by analysis of past viewing history. The grocery chain Harris Teeter offers its Express Lane, and enhanced service where customers can order online and the store will pull and assemble the order, making it ready for pickup. Think about ways to leverage the access and immediacy that technology provides to make your customers' service experiences more valuable -- perhaps promoting quality, offering greater convenience, creating demand for additional offerings.

If you are going to make technology your friend, make sure you don't take shortcuts in design or implementation. Shortcomings in the user experience or problems with reliability will make technology your foe.